'Middle-Skill Jobs Are Lagging'

While I search for something to post/talk about, a note on the declining middle class:

Middle-Skill Jobs Are Lagging, by Michael S. Derby: ...A report released Monday by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York puts some numbers behind the evolution of the work force. The report found that from 1980 until 2010, job growth happened “disproportionately” at the high and low ends of skill levels.

The middle-skilled jobs lost in recessions haven’t been recovered in rebounds. Meanwhile, low- and high-skill jobs don’t lose any notable ground during downturns and grow in better times. That means the pain of recessions is felt almost exclusively in the middle of the skills curve, the report noted.

Who makes up the ... medium-...skilled workforce? ...The broad swath of middle-level-skill jobs includes repair, construction, factory, office and sales workers, among other classes. ...

In a refrain common to the broader Federal Reserve view on the problem, the paper’s authors argue policymakers need to find a way to promote education as a way to navigate the changing environment created by technology. “Given the reduction in opportunities for middle skill workers, it is especially important to help people build the skills necessary to take on the high-skill jobs that these forces can create,” the report said.